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Bending Spoons, the Italian app developer that acquired Evernote last November, is bending over backwards to revamp the note-taking app and make it its own.
Not every day do you see a Silicon Valley company pack up its things and move shop to Europe. In fact, it is often the other way around. But Evernote, once a shining star in the world of note-taking apps, is winding down its operations in the US and Chile and moving its business to Europe.
Acquired by Milan-based mobile app developer Bending Spoons last November, Evernote announced last month that it would “transition” most of its operations to Europe to “boost operational efficiency” and make the most of the Italian brand’s strong presence.
“Unfortunately, this transition required that most of our Chile and US-based employees be laid off,” Evernote CEO Francesco Patarnello wrote in a statement over the weekend. Affected employees were informed on 5 July.
Bending Spoons develops a suite of mobile apps with nearly 100m global monthly users combined, including video-editor Splice and AI-assisted photo editor Remini.
Former Evernote CEO Ian Small said at the time of the acquisition that the move marked another step in the app’s journey to be an “extension” of one’s brain.
Acting as a virtual notebook, Evernote aims to help users organise and search through their notes, allowing them to embed photos, audio and web content. Operating in a freemium model, it has services for teams, individual professionals and personal use.
Now, Bending Spoons is bending over backwards to revamp Evernote and make it its own.
“Our plans for Evernote are as ambitious as ever. Going forward, a dedicated (and growing) team based in Europe will continue to assume ownership of the Evernote product,” said Patarnello.
“This team will be in an ideal position to leverage the extensive expertise and strength of the 400-plus workforce at Bending Spoons, many of whom have been working on Evernote full-time since the acquisition.”
Last year, Bending Spoons announced it surpassed $100m in annual revenue. It also raised $340m in one of Italy’s largest funding rounds last September, backed by big Italian banks and Maximum Effort, the film production company founded by actor Ryan Reynolds.
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